Gold chain worth Rs 9 lakh seized at Bhubaneswar airport

BHUBANESWAR: Customs officials on Saturday detained a person carrying around 305 grams of gold worth around Rs 9.5 lakh at the Biju Patnaik International Airport. The gold chain was coated with silver to hoodwink the officials. This is the fifth incident of smuggled gold being seized at the airport, said Sashi Bhushan, the assistant commissioner of Customs. "The gold chain was of foreign origin. Investigation is on," he added.
The passenger was coming in an Air India flight from Bangkok. When he landed, his movement raised suspicion among the personnel of Customs, air intelligence wing, and they detained him. "On frisking his body and checking his baggage, we found the gold chain that looked like sliver," Bhushan said.

On March 27 and 28, gold weighing 1.2 kg and 378 grams were seized by the officails at the arrival lounge of the international flights from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Altogether gold worth Rs 60 lakh worth has been seized in a week, officials said.

In most cases, the smugglers keep the gold hidden in their rectums. "The gold smugglers eye new airport. Since Bhubaneswar has started international operations recently, the smugglers felt they will get away with the smuggled goods," said Bhushan.

He said in many cases the real gold trader is a different person. The people caught by us are carriers and they keep changing the arrival stations. "If they feel the smuggled gold is being seized frequently, they will shift to Kolkata or any nearby airport. They only need a safe conduit to transport smuggled gold and currencies," said an officer of customs.